Whittle them down to their respective marrows, and the meaningful difference between shlock country and the alt stuff becomes clear: intellect. Done right, killer country fuses smarts with C&W’s all-American charm for a deeply rooted music that tickles the senses instead of insulting them. That hard-to-forge alchemy is in full…

Some musicians consider the stage a bully pulpit for pounding ideas into people’s minds. Pearl Jam and Rage Against the Machine are two groups who’ve often used their stage time to rail against the evils of capitalism and the corporate structure — while reaping the benefits of both. But, while…

More than thirty years ago, when he discovered the traditional route to success in America was more like a dead end, U. Utah Phillips set out on new path. With a guitar in his hand and a batch of folk songs and stories in his head, he carved himself a…

It’s a cold Saturday night in Arvada, the kind of frosty evening that keeps all but the most die-hard live music fans at home. But inside Mr. B’s Roadhouse — a neighborhood temple of sports, rock and roll and drinking culture — a handful of music patrons and barflies have…

Over the past two years, Yonder Mountain String Band, Saturday, December 30, and Sunday, December 31, at Boulder’s Fox Theatre, has achieved the kind of success that other new-grass acts rarely gain. In recent months, the band has played its “fully resinated” music to large, giddy crowds and headlined some…

With his latest release, Dwight Yoakam continues his reign as the King of Contemporary Country. Tomorrow’s Sounds is a brilliant collection of classic C&W filtered through Dwight’s 21st-century cowboy mind. Guitarist/producer Pete Anderson starts “Love Caught Up to Me” with one of his trademark melodic guitar figures, launching the tune…

Any musical uprising worth raising a fist for must have its own battle cry. For today’s alternative-country camp, Robbie Fulks’s anti-Nashville anthem, “Fuck This Town” (from his 1997 neo-country classic, South Mouth), just might be it. But don’t think for a minute that Fulks’s hilarious-but-pointed shlock country diatribe makes him…

For the musician, the romance of life in Colorado comes with a price, because the state’s geographic gifts — the Rocky Mountains, snow and the surrounding open plains — are a serious obstacle for acts that want to tour for a living. While this may not be a secret among…

When Armando Zuppa’s wife suggested it was time for her Italian-born husband to get out of Rome, he agreed that it was a good idea. “She came into our apartment one day,” he recalls, “and I was standing in front of my stereo with my cowboy hat and boots on,…

Edelman’s third release is a wondrous, acoustic collection, packed with unflinching accounts of adult life that carry the Americana form to new (and welcome) terrain. With songs that run from spare laments to giddy, unplugged anthems, Edelman’s neo-folk sound blends threads of traditional Appalachian and Irish music with contemporary songwriter…

These days, John Common is pretty happy. During the past year or so, his band, Rainville, has become widely regarded as one of the more thrilling additions to the Denver scene. Along the way, he’s kept refining his approach to a wholly American songwriting style that echoes the best aspects…

Bob Tyler, Friday, October 20, at the Bug Theatre, is a hands-down winner for best supporting musician in a local music scene. Over the past few years, Tyler has served as songwriter, backup musician and/or producer for numerous area heavies, from John Magnie and 3Twins to Marie Beer and newcomers…

Many an artist has enjoyed an entire career — and a lifelong income — from the lasting appeal of one smash, a single tune that somehow buried itself in the minds of listeners like a fiddler crab tunneling into sand. Unfortunately for Dale Hawkins, he’s not one of those artists…

For many musicians, having fans hear their decades-old music is as scary as having a potential partner view long-out-of-fashion high school photos: There are some things that are best left buried in the past. But for Chris Daniels and the Kings, looking back on past endeavors has never been so…

Each year, the annual Country Music Association awards broadcast holds a few surprises, little drama and zero controversy. Unlike the Grammys or the Academy Awards, where viewers can expect at least a little bit of from-the-podium pontificating on current events or artistic issues, the CMA’s are typically safe, self-congratulatory shmoozefests…

I hope this doesn’t sound too weird to you,” says local country artist Dustin Bogue, “but if I ever do make it, I want to make a movie about my life and all that I’ve been through. I know this is just the beginning, but my road has been amazing.”…

The Haywoods have one obvious connection to the Front Range music scene: Their debut release, Drinkin’ Cryin’ & Moanin’, appears on Wormtone Records, the Denver label run by rockabilly impresarios (and husband-and-wife team) Kurt and Karen Ohlen. But for Haywoods frontman Chad Silva, the connection to Colorado goes far beyond…

Siúcra, Thursday, August 31, at Trilogy in Boulder, is an act with a deceiving handle. Siúcra is an Irish word meaning sugar,: and while this band has certainly mastered Irish music, the sound it creates is anything but sweet. True, the threesome (Beth Leachman on vocals and bodhran, Shannon Heaton…

Maybe it’s his rubber-tight britches — pants so snug they’d make the Michelin Man squirm. Or maybe it’s his countrypolitan image and those knock-kneed maneuvers he’s made famous — Presleyan gyrations that make the ladies smile and the men snicker. Whatever the reason, despite his place as a trailblazer in…

Colorado, it’s safe to say, isn’t known for its soul men. But by creating some of the most stirring music to emerge from this state, Denver native and ex-Subdude John Magnie has been correcting that shortcoming for the past couple of decades. These days, Magnie’s crafting his spiritual sounds in…